Ōkami
Ōkami (「大神」or「狼」, Great god or Wolf in Japanese, respectively) is an action-adventure video game developed by Atsushi Inaba and distributed by Capcom. It was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2006 in Japan and North America, and 2007 in Europe and Australia. Despite the closure of Clover Studio a few months after the PS2 release, a port for Nintendo's Wii console was produced by Ready at Dawn and Capcom, which was released in North America on April 15, 2008, and in Europe in June 2008. It is the first game in the Ōkami series. Story Set in an unspecified period of classical Japanese history, Ōkami combines several Japanese myths, legends and folklore to tell the story of how the land was saved from darkness by the Shinto sun goddess Amaterasu, who has taken the form of a white wolf. It features a distinct sumi-e-inspired cel-shaded visual style and the Celestial Brush, a gesture-system to perform miracles. Characters * Amaterasu * Issun - "The Wandering Artist" who guides Amaterasu on her journey, this tiny being, actually a Poncle, is infuriated at being called a bug. * Sakuya - She represents the Guardian Saplings that watch over Kamiki Village. Her power is dwindling, but she has encased the spirits of the villagers in the fruit of her tree. * Susano - A bumbling warrior who tries his best to be heroic, Susano is the descendant of a legendary man who once saved the town from Orochi. * Kokari - A boy found in Agata Forest searching for his missing dog Ume. Ume is, in fact, in the belly of the Spider Queen, who must be defeated to get the dog back unharmed. * Kushi - brewer of the famed Thunder Brew, Kushi's house is marked by Orochi's cursed arrow, signifying that she is to be the next sacrificial victim to Orochi. * Mr. and Mrs. Orange * Waka - This mysterious character is sometimes depicted as a Tao master and sometimes as a loyal disciple. In any depiction, he always carries his sword, Pillowtalk, and has even raised his blade at Amaterasu. That battle was won by carefully knocking down Waka's thrown swords. * Spider Queen - The first boss of the game, the Spider Queen has been nesting in Tsuta Ruins since ancient times. Protected by a hard shell, the Spider Queen does not know the sting of pain. The watchful eyes on her back makes attacking from the rear too risky. However, if the shell can be opened, she can be beaten. * Crimson Helm - The second boss of Ōkami, Crimson Helm is a massive armored centaur-like demon wielding two giant fiery swords. *'Blight' - a demonic warrior which has the power to spread plagues through an enchanted fog. Blight appears as a walking suit of armor impaled with countless blades and arrows without any body, but it is actually possessed by the demon blade Goldnail, which it wields. This blade was drenched in the blood of its wielders' adversaries in numerous wars, and eventually became a demon and gained sentience. * Yami - Amaterasu's archenemy and also the game's villain. * Orochi - Orochi, the eight-headed dragon of Japanese folklore, is a major antagonist of Ōkami. The villagers of Kamiki must repeat the same process from 100 years before, which involved getting Orochi drunk on sake before he could be defeated. His final form is called "True Orochi". Reception and Legacy Ōkami was one of the last few PS2 games selected for release prior to the release of the PlayStation 3. Although it suffered from poor sales, Ōkami earned high acclaim from reviewers and earned awards. The Wii version has received similar praise, though the motion control scheme has gotten mixed reviews from both critics and gamers. A high-definition port of the game was released on the PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network in October 2012 and for retail in Japan on 1 November 2012, supporting the use of the PlayStation Move motion controller. A sequel entitled Ōkamiden was released for the Nintendo DS. Trivia *Yami reappears as the primary antagonist of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, as the one responsible for fusing the universes of Capcom and Tatsunoko together with the real world. *Sakuya appeared as a card in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3's Heroes & Heralds mode. *South Park referenced Ōkami in episode 161, “Le Petit Tourette”. The cover art for the game was visible in certain parts of the episode. Gallery Image:OkamiIssun.png|''Issun'' Image:OkamiSakuya.png|''Sakuya'' Image:OkamiSusano.png|''Susano'' Image:OkamiKokari.png|''Kokari'' Image:OkamiKushi.png|''Kushi'' Image:Mr&MrsOrange.png|''Mrs. and Mr. Orange'' Image:OkamiWaka.png|''Waka'' Image:OkamiSpiderQueen.png|''Spider Queen'' Image:OkamiCrimsonHelm.png|''Crimson Helm'' Image:Okami_Blight.png|''Blight'' Image:OkamiYami.png|''Yami'' Image:OkamiOrochi.png|''Orochi'' Sakuya (UMvC3).png|''Sakuya's UMvC3 Heroes & Heralds Card Box Art Image:OkamiJapan.png|PS2 Japan Image:OkamiCoverScan.png|PS2 U.S. Image:OkamiEurope.png|PS2 Europe Image:OkamiWii.png|Wii U.S. Image:Okami_HD.png|HD PS3 Merchandise Image:OkamiOST.png|''OST Image:OkamiArtbook.png|''Artbook'' Image:OkamiGuidebook.png|''Guidebook'' Image:OkamiGuide.png|''Strategy Guide'' Image:OkamiPlay.png|Play Magazine External Link *[http://www.okami-game.com/ Ōkami Official Website] *Ōkami Wiki *Ōkami World *[http://www.artofokami.com/ Art of Ōkami] Category:Games Category:PlayStation 2 Games Category:Wii Games Category:Okami Games Category:Action-Adventure Games